Merkel left red-faced as Germany admits 130,000 arriving refugees have now VANISHED

MORE than 130,00 refugees who have arrived in Germany in the past 14 months have vanished.

More than 130,000 refugees have vanished in Germany over the past 14 months

The government admitted the shock statistic, which represents 13 per cent of the number of migrants who have arrived since the beginning of 2014, in answer to a question posed in the Bundestag parliament on Thursday by the Left Party.

It means they have left Germany to wander into other countries after initial registration, or they have disappeared underground.

The numbers are calculated on accommodation slots across the country that were allocated and not taken up.

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The migrants are thought to have crossed the border into neighbouring European countries

The head of Germany's migration office, Frank-Jürgen Weise, also admitted that there are currently up to 400,000 people in the country whose identities are unknown to authorities.

There are currently up to 400,000 people in the country whose identities are unknown to authorities

Frank-Jürgen Weise

Berlin also said it enjoys little success in sending refugees back to EU states responsible for them - the 'safe' countries they first arrived in from their homelands.

Authorities made a request to a European partner to take back refugees for one in every ten applicants. In 2014 it was one in five.

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The figures of missing migrants was calculated by checking empty slots in refugee camps

This system is set for an overhaul as it proves unworkable - last month showed Greece saw 21 times more migrants arrive on its shores than in January 2015.

This week the government passed a package of new and tighter laws on asylum which goes before the upper house of parliament on Friday for ratification.

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The percentage of missing migrants was revealed in Bundestag parliament

The legislation aims to speed up asylum procedures and make it easier to deport migrants denied the right to settle with some asylum-seekers having to wait two years before they can have family members join them in Germany.

Although Germans were told to brace this week for a possible 2.6 million more refugees by 2020, the numbers arriving at its borders have slumped dramatically in recent days with as few as 150 turning up on the frontier with Austria.